Europe has decided who should have a seat at the table in potential peace talks between Ukraine and Russia. France, Germany, Britain, Italy and Poland will join the European Council and Commission in a negotiating team, EU leaders agreed in Dublin on Friday, though its precise mandate remains unclear.
“Today, the leaders agreed that our European team for the negotiations on peace in Ukraine is the European Union institutions and the E5 of the coalition of the willing,” European Council President António Costa said. The agreement establishes a collective format rather than naming a single European envoy.
“Only Ukraine has the legitimacy to decide on matters concerning its territory and sovereignty,” he added. The EU would address membership, reconstruction and prosperity, while the coalition of the willing would handle security guarantees in coordination with NATO.
Mandate and financing still to follow
Portuguese Prime Minister Luís Montenegro said the team had not yet received a specific mandate. He stressed that its task concerned peace in Ukraine, rather than broader negotiations over Europe’s security architecture. Maltese Prime Minister Robert Abela also said the negotiating demands required further discussion.
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Commission President Ursula von der Leyen identified legally binding security guarantees and a postwar prosperity package as priorities. “The best way to get Russia to the table is to keep up our support for Ukraine and to keep maximum pressure on Russia,” she said.
The Commission will soon propose a 22nd sanctions package and present plans to close Ukraine’s 2027 financing gap before the next European Council on 26–27 November. Friday’s agreement settled Europe’s proposed representation, but did not resolve those funding decisions or announce a peace agreement.
